Disabled Toilets and 10 Things That Annoy Me!!

I often wonder, who actually designs disabled toilets?  I suspect that its some able-bodied person's idea of what they think a disabled person needs, but without having the foresight to consult a disabled person to see if it will work for them.

I can only talk about disabled toilets here in the UK, and obviously only about a small percentage of those, which I have actually tried, but suspect that the problems I encounter will be pretty much universal.

 

The first problem is usually the door.  There is probably some building regulation that requires the door to be big and heavy, probably to do with fire safety.  I'm not sure that I think the disabled toilet is the best place to seek cover from a fire, but each to their own.  Its fine having a big heavy door,, if its easy to open and close, but invariably the hinges are stiff, which then makes pulling it open or closed very difficult, if you are trying to do this whilst also trying to manoeuvre your wheelchair.

 

And then some are fitted with door returns, which keep trying to close the door, once you've managed to pull it open a short way, and then have to let go while you reposition your wheelchair, only to turn back and find you now can't reach the door because its closing itself!!

 

Once the door is open, the first thing I then check is, if the toilet is wide enough for me to be able to turn around in, in my wheelchair, once I'm inside and the door has closed.

 

All to often, the disabled toilets allow you to go in, but not turn round once your inside.  This then leaves you with the dilemma of which way is the best to go in.  Obviously you have to close the door behind you - especially if its not on a door return - so you need to back in.  But then you're not facing the toilet, so you need to turn round, but you can't because the room isn't wide enough to allow you to turn.  So you go straight in, but then you can't close the door, unless its on a return.

 

The other thing to check is the state of the toilet.  I don't think that disabled people are inherently untidy or unhygienic, they appreciate these facilities, that are there for our convenience.  However, how many times do you go to enter a disabled toilet to find the floor wet, and covered in soaked paper hand towels.  Now from my experience of able-bodied toilets, only the men's I would add, these are usually in a pretty awful state.  So I suspect that when able-bodied people use the disable facilities they don't think anything of getting water all over the floor, or mind too much if the paper towel goes on the floor rather than in the bin.  I'm not saying disabled people are blameless, but we are far less likely to leave these toilets in a state as we have no choice but to use them.  And try spending the day going round in your wheelchair, with urine soaked tyres and with wet paper towel being trailed behind you.

 

Anyway when you've found a solution to how your going to get in the toilet, checked the state of the hygiene, and closed the door, you've then got to think about locking the door.  Now if you have weakness in your arms and fingers that don't work particularly well, the normal devices used to lock the door are usually placed to high up the door and to fiddly to be worked.  So then you have to think can I use this and lock the door, and then be able to unlock it when I want to leave.  Inevitably the answer for me is not to lock the door - I don't want to spend my day locked in a disabled toilet.

 

So you've now tackled the door, got yourself inside and locked, or not, the door.  For me actually doing the business I've gone into the toilet for, is easy.  I use a urine bottle, as I can't stand up to the toilet.  I always ensure that before I leave home that I have done anything extra, so I'm only going to need to have a pee if I'm out.  But if you need to use the toilet, these are invariably standard size toilets.  Now I know from experience if you use a normal toilet, and have difficulty getting up, because of weakness in your legs, then you're going to get stuck on the toilet.

 

The toilets often have bars which can be lowered round the toilet to help push yourself up on but these can be difficult to reach and put up and down, if you have weakness in your arms.

 

So lets assume you've got in the toilet, closed the door and done your business.  Now you need to try getting the toilet roll to clean yourself.  Usually the toilet rolls in most toilets, able-bodied or not, are those massive industrial size rolls which are contained in big dispensers.  Now these are usually conveniently placed just slightly out of reach, if your sat on the toilet, so you then have to struggle to reach them.  And then the roll has been fitted in the dispenser in such a rush, that it doesn't turn properly, so all you can get out is one sheet at a time.  Or the dispenser is so loose that when you pull on the roll it just won't stop coming out.

 

You then need to flush the toilet.  Now I find that the flush is usually placed so that you need to lean over the toilet, something I can't do in my wheelchair.

 

Then once you've struggled off the toilet, and flushed, you need to wash your hands.  Usually the sink has been put at a height suitable for a person standing up. This means the sink is about chest height for someone in a wheelchair.  This does mean that you can get yourself nice and close to the sink, as you can get your chair under the sink, but if you can't lift your arms easily, how are you supposed to reach up into the sink.

 

You then have to reach the taps.  If the sink is to high, this makes reaching for the taps very difficult.  Taps with levers are fine if you can reach the levers, and these are not too stiff to move.  In the newer toilets they have taps that work on sensors, so you don't have to fiddle about with levers.  However, if the levers are stiff and you have to struggle to get these to move, they usually suddenly move, causing you to get too much water.  Also the taps with sensors have no way of regulating the water.  So your sat right up to the sink, reaching for the taps, the water suddenly comes rushing out, and splashes down into the bowl and then right back out again, all over you!

 

Then you look for the soap dispense, which is usually above the sink.  Even if you could reach it, there is no way that you can push the lever to get the soap out, without activating the tap, and soaking yourself more.  So you struggle to get some soap out, without giving yourself an impromptu shower, only to get a tiny little squeeze of soap, or so much soap comes out that you could wash your hands all day and still not have used all the soap.

 

So now you've washed your hands, and need to get the hand towel.  Again these are usually set at a height that is impossible to reach them, unless your standing. 

 

Alternative you could use the warm air dryer, but again these are usually to high to get your hands under to activate the warm air.  So you then end up trying to lean forward to get your head to activate the warm hair and still get it to blow on your hands.

 

And then you need to get the used hand towel into the bin.  The bin is often situated so that its in an area of the toilet where it won't be blocking access.  This means its inaccessible to a wheelchair user without a great deal of struggle.

 

Then you need to try and get the door open, and the get out of the toilet.  If for any reason you find yourself stuck in the toilet, there's usually some system to be able to call for assistance.  If its a pull cord, I find these are placed out of the way, so that people aren't tempted to pull them, or are tied up so that you can't reach them.  If it's an electronic system, there's no chance that this will work.

 

Disabled toilets also, often double as baby changing rooms.  This means that there is often some sort of changing table, to take up room.  Even the toilets with restricted space have tables which fold down on the wall.  How often have I tried to go into a disabled toilet and found that the table has been left down, and its impossible for me to fold it away or use the toilet whilst this is down.

 

If you try to use a disabled toilet after a mum has just changed her child, you best have a cloths peg for your nose.  Even if the mum has managed to put the used nappy and wipes in the bin, and you'd be amazed how often these are left on the floor, the smell can be over powering.

 

So before people start designing disable toilets, why don't they try talking to disabled people to see what we want and need.  And I don't mean talk to the disabled guy who can walk in to the toilet, I mean talk to people with a range of disabilities.  Don't assume everyone in a wheelchair will be accompanied - we do like to independent as well.  Don't assume that everyone in a wheelchair has full use of their arms and can reach for things.

 

10 Things That Annoy Me.

 

1.  I have a name.  It is not "Love" "Darling" "Dearie" "Sweetie" or "Duckie."  Just because I am in a wheelchair does not give people the right to patronise me.  I have a name, so use it.  If you don't know it, ask me what it is.  But do not assume that I your Love, Dear or Duck.

 

2.  Smokers.  Now its not smoking - that would be hypocritical, being an ex-smoker.  Its when people, such as carers, come to get me up and the first thing you're confronted with, is the smell of the last cigarette they had to have before coming into the house.  Eau de Fag Butt is not what I want to wake up to in the morning.

 

3.  People being late.  When I was working , people who were late for meetings used to just wind me up.  These were the people who were invariably late in, in the mornings but very punctual in going home in the evenings.  Much the same applies now.  People seem to assume that as you are disabled, it doesn't matter if they are late to appointments with me.  I can't possibly have anything better to do.

 

4.  Being late also applies to carers when they are getting me up in the morning.  I like a 7.00 am call, or earlier.  But that does not mean you can turn up at 7.30, or later, as suits you, because that means you are taking control of my day, and I'm losing part of my day.

 

5.  People who start to shake your hand, and then try to back out.  When I was at work, you naturally shook hands with a lot of people, and a good firm hand shake, to me was a good sign about a person, whereas a limp hand shake also told me volumes.  Now I'm in a wheelchair, I find it difficult to raise my arm and hand.  Also the fingers on my hands are bent and don't straighten properly.  But there is nothing worse than a person offering their hand to shake, and then seeing the difficulty I'm having and instead of being patient, grabbing hold of my wrist and shaking my arm. 

6.  People who ask how I am.  These fall into two categories.

Firstly, we have the people who ask, but who have absolutely no interest in the answer.  They ask the question but wouldn't be interested  even if I started to tell them.  You can see it in their eyes as they ask the question, "Please just say your fine." 

Secondly, we have the people who ask but only as a segue way for them to tell me how sick they are.  Again they are not interested in my answer, but are only to willing to tell me how close they are to deaths door with their cold.  Well guess what, buster.  I can trump almost anything you have, but your just not interested to hear it.

7.  People who think I can't be ill, and laugh.  I am a very positive person - despite all this moaning here - and will always try to see the funny side of most things.  I often say to people that if they walk in and I can't have a laugh with them, then they know something is very wrong.  But being sick doesn't mean I'm not able to have a laugh or see the funny side of life.  In fact, I think its an essential part of life.

8.  People who ignore me simply because I'm in a wheelchair.  (This is slightly ahead of people who patronise me because I'm in a wheelchair.)  People seem to take the view that because you're in a wheelchair, there must be something wrong with you - well they are partly right.  What I have wrong with me is physical.  I still have a perfectly active and functioning brain.  This means I am perfectly capable of engaging in an intelligent conversation.  If you talk to me I am not going to start screaming and causing a scene.  If however you approach me and ask, "Are you alright, lovey?" as if you are talking to a 5 year old, I may just reduce you to tears.

9.  People who are sick - and the irony of this isn't lost on me.  I have very little patience with people who are sick - never have done.  When I was working - up until the point where my conditions really started to take over - I very rarely took time off due to sickness.  I seem to remember that over a 10 year period I had one day off sick.  But then you get other people who seem to have days off at the drop of a hat.  They seem to think its a "right" to take time off and that they are "due" a certain number of days off each year.  And then they come back top work and have to tell everyone how ill they have been.

10.  People who sniff rather than blow their nose.  This is just revolting.  I had a carer who about every 10 seconds would sniff, and then in between these about once a minute would do a really disgusting deep snotty sniff.  I just wanted to shout, "Blow your nose!!" whilst throwing the box of tissues at her.